Lyrabar
Capital of Impiltur Who Rules: Queen-Regent Sambryl (LG female Damaran human Ari 5/Wiz 4) is the titular ruler of the city and the realm. Who Really Rules: The Lords of Imphras II make all major decisions affecting the city but day-to-day decision-making is delegated to the Royal Constable Brembar Wintersun (LN human Damaran male fighter 7) and the Royal Herald Korthaun Morthil (NG human Damaran male wizard 5). Population: 85,000 (registered) rising to 100,000 in the warmer months. Major Products: Gems, gold, iron, silver and other metal ores. Armed Forces: A garrison made up of a Shield of the Warsword (2,000 fighters) led by Vigilar Drammor Brandosk (NG human Damaran male fighter 12); the Warprows of Impiltur (6 major ships and their crews totalling 1000+ trained sea warriors); a force of some 50 Warwand wizards led by the Mage Royal Selarbrin (LG human Tethyrian male wizard 18/Archmage 2) and the Buckler, the local constabulary numbering another 1,000 “shields” (guardsmen). Notable Mages: Lyrabar is home to a few wizards of note that are not part of the Warwand of the realm: - Broargar “Windcloak” Iringil (LN human Damaran male wizard 12) is the founder of the Tower of the Wind, a small wizard school that trains “windmages” for the merchant ships that plie the Inner Sea; - Haelimbar Dunnever (NG human Damaran male abjurer 13), a diffident, low-key caster of spells for fees that specialises in magic to do with wards. His services are much in demand by the nobles who hold estates in an around Lyrabar; - Ilbarra “the Stormwing” Melenril (N human Damaran female sorceror 9), a mercenary mage for hire, and always ready for a rescue or a fight. She is known to carry and wield a large array of rare and powerful wands; - Mordraun Wellhaven (N human Damaran necromancer 15), a spade-bearded recluse, long-estranged from his noble family, he is known to pay well for monster body parts and to have the ability to assume wraithform seemingly at will. - Rilyaril “the Scarlet Sorceress” (CN human Damaran female enchantress 8), a stunningly beautiful mage who is widely rumoured to use her natural and magical charms to obtain and broker information throughout the city. Her private parties are legendary and marked by dancing, feasting and more salubrious activities. - Tardazz Var (NE human Mulan wizard 16), an affiliate of the Red Wizards of Thay, who keeps to himself but is known to sell potions and scrolls for very stiff fees. He is known to keep a griffon mount and is often seen flying high above the skies of Lyrabar. - Vaerthala “the Old Witch” Evenmoon (LG human Damaran wizard 17), an old, former senior member of the Warwand, now retired, and rumoured to have briefly been an apprentice of the legendary Simbul. She is known to command rare spells and bear a staff of the magi. Notable Churches: Worship of the Triad, the faiths of Ilmater, Torm and Tyr, is Impiltur’s state religion and yet the kingdom happily embraces the worship of all non-evil deities. Lyrabar has shrines to Azuth, Deneir, Kelemvor, Milil, Sune and Umberlee located within its walls, as well as the following temples: - The House of Happenstance, temple to Tymora; High Lady of Fortune Jarlenna Nimbil (NG female Damaran cleric 16 of Tymora); 12 priests, 30 followers. Jarlenna is known to aid adventurers and to provide healing for those who “dice with destiny”. - The Wavecavern, temple to Istishia; Typhonic Oracle Eberlaith Nornmist (N half-elf (aquatic) cleric 13 of Istishia); 5 priests and 12 followers. Located at the base of the cliffs that stand at Lyrabar’s western end, the Wavecavern supplements its worship tithes by selling blue-glazed pottery that is highly sought after by the upwardly mobile merchant class of the city. - The Sanctum of the Sword, temple to Tempus; Blood Gauntlet Derelaun Bornfist (LN male Damaran fighter 4/cleric 9 of Tempus); 11 priests, 50 followers. - The Tower of Seven Stars; High Priestess Naramatha “the Goldflame” Randrul (NG female Damaran cleric 14 of Mystra); 5 priests, 20 followers. Naramatha is a staunch supporter of the Warwand and is often consulted by the Mage Royal Selarbrin regarding matters pertaining to the Art. Rumours contend that their bond transcends a love of the Lady of Mysteries. - Moonshimmer House, temple to Selune; Priestess of the Stars Arlaura Faeryl (LG female Damaran cleric 11 of Selune); 6 priests, 50 followers. - The Blessed Tritower, temple to the Triad; Revered Mother Elmaera Dornmane (LG female Damaran cleric 17 of Ilmater), Defender of Justice Merlthaun Fornal (LG male Damaran cleric 10/triadic knight 7 of Tyr) and High Priest Velimbrar Starsunder (LG male Damaran human paladin 4/cleric 10 of Torm); 60 priests, 300 followers. This conglomerate temple is the largest of its type in the Realms and reflects the unifying faith of the Triad in the context of the reclamation of Impiltur after the Fiend Wars. Each faith has its own part of the complex and conducts separate observances, save for four times a year when the faiths join for three tendays of combined worship, fasting and purification rites. Notable Rogues’ and Thieves’ Guilds: None known (the Lords of Imphras II combat any such groups ceaselessly, making Lyrabar one of the safest cities east of the Inner Sea). Equipment Shops: Full. Adventurer’s Quarters: Lyrabar has many inns and rooming houses given the amount of traffic it sees both overland and by sea from the Vast and the lands of the Easting Reach. Those establishments that welcome adventurers include: - The Outshield Inn (the only accessible lodging when the city gates are shut at dusk - good/expensive); - Argel’s Hall, an impressive stone building named for its owner, the retired adventurer Argel Faerdrath (LN dwarf male fighter 10), who is known to provide details of local “dungeons” for good coin (excellent/moderate); - The Ten Kegs tavern and inn, famous throughout the city for its locally brewed ales (the most well-known are Old Tar stout and Froth of Karn lager) and comfortable lodgings (good/moderate); - Bordigan’s Boardhouse, an old, sprawling inn located near the docks that provides lodgings for the undiscerning (poor/cheap); - The Golden Stag tavern and inn, once grand but having lost most of its lustre (fair/moderate). Important Characters: - Alither Ementharn, a greybearded sage of distinguished mien and concise speech (NG human Damaran male expert 5, S: human history and theology of the Vast and Easting Reach); - Caelantha (CG human Damaran female thief 3), a homely ex-laundress who now runs a rooming house and is secretly a Harper friend. - Fimbrar Stoutsaddle (NE human Damaran male fighter 8), a caravan guard and scout who is senior member of the Cult of Eltab in Lyrabar; - Imthaeryl “the Sunflame” Darnthul (CG half-elf female bard 9), a fixture at the Smiling Mermaid festhall, where she plays the lyre and provides other entertainment to those with ready coin. She is known to have ties with the Moonstars and is absent from the city every Midsummer, returning a tenday later; - Lorbath Ironstave (LN dwarf male fighter 10), a mercenary recruiter for the Starsunder noble family and deadly with a thrown handaxe; - Rorglaun (N half-orc male fighter 2), newly arrived from Thesk and looking to join an adventuring company and make his fortune. - Talathrar Cauntor (CN human Damaran male thief 8), a quiet merchant by day selling textiles and haberdashery from his Talathrar’s Twine shop on Stonemount Street. He is “the Swiftshadow” by night, a brazen thief swiftly gaining a reputation throughout the city. - Ylimar “the Cloaked” (LG human Damaran paladin 4 of Tyr), an everpresent, wandering guardian of the streets of Lyrabar, both day and night, who is tolerated by most members of the Buckler, but considered a zealot by others. He has recently come to the attention of the church hierarchy for his activities and may yet be ordered to leave the city and combat evil in the company of other “adventurous” types. Important Features in Town: The largest city along the Easting Coast, Lyrabar is also called the City of Black Towers, for the dark-hued granite that is mined in quarries west of the city and used for roads and buildings over the centuries. The city is dominated by the twin landmarks of the golden-domed Royal Palace and Tower Pureheart, which along with the the Tower of Soargar stand on a small, pleateau that overlooks the city proper from its western end. The city stretches eastward from this plateau, known to all as “the Mount”, for about a mile and gives the city a long, narrow profile . There are only two gates that allow entrance through the city walls, and they are the Dragon Barbican to the north and the Bronze Barbican to the east. The minor roads of the city are narrow and predominately of a type known as “fistrock” (cobblestone) and many laneways depart from the Blackmarch, the main artery that runs west from the Bronze Barbican to the Liongate that separates the Mount from the rest of the city. To the citizens of Lyrabar, the Blackmarch is known simply as “the Way”, much to the confusion of visitors. The Blackmarch also branches north at the city’s central hub to the Dragon Barbican. This central hub is a large expanse, used by traders every fourth turnride (weekend) who come in from outlying villages to sell produce and wares to the citizens of Lyrabar. The area is known as the Diamond, and ringed by several inns and taverns. To “go looking for diamonds” is a colloquial term in Lyrabar for a night out “on the town”. The docks of the city are clustered at the western end, and a spit that curves in an eastern arc from the area of the Mount was long-ago built up into a strong seawall punctuated by the sea tower known as the Wyrmtooth, which guards entry to the harbour proper. The harbour contains three major wooden wharves, one used exclusively by the Warprows, and several minor wharves owned by the wealthier merchant concerns in the kingdom. As is typical of most large cities, the dock area is the more vibrant part of Lyrabar. Lyrabar is so policed and well-ordered however that the docks of the city do not even come close to approximating the environment found in places such as Marsember and Calaunt. One notable feature of Lyrabar is that most of the row houses that line its streets are arranged in a square pattern providing access to a small, central courtyard, commonly given over to gardens and trees. Most of the locals retire to these areas in their leisure time and it’s a local joke to tell any outlander searching for someone that he or she can be “found at court”. Lyrabar is a busy city, with the docks bustling day and night and traffic moving through the streets to warehouses, caravan yards and shops almost continuously. As a result, the major roads are well lit and patrolled by the Buckler who often intervene to untangle traffic snarls or deal with road and thoroughfare disputes. Notwithstanding this, the city can best be described as quiet, especially in the more well-to-do areas in the northwestern part of the city and around the base of the Mount. Adventurers and their hijinks are tolerated at best, but blades out confrontations in the streets are met with swift and efficient action by the authorities. Local Lore: Lyrabar is one of the oldest contuinually settled locations north of the Vilhon Reach and originally settled by humans fleeing the destruction of Jhaamdath prior to the raising of the Standing Stone. It was known as Impil’s Tor at the time, for the raising of wooden palisade and tower on the Mount, but contact with the dwarves of Earthfast saw the name changed by the long-ago Ornrath Mirandor. Before human settlement, the site of Lyrabar was once a delve of the long-lost dwarven realm of Felimar and while fragmentary runestone records attest to the importance of the name “Lyrabar” to this site, it is unknown whether this was a reference to the name of the location or the dwarven clan that worked it. It is known however that there is a mine deep beneath the mount that appears to have links with the Underdark but the only known access if through the undercellars of the Tower of Soargar, once the earliest seat of the ruling Mirandor clan. The city has been sacked and captured twice in its long history, firstly by the Scaled Horde which brought an end to the Durlarven Dynasty of Old Impiltur and then in recent times as sages record history, by the “Traitor Prince” Thaum of Telflamm. The latter is known to have claimed the treasure vaults of the realm and even accounting for the mercenary army he lead and the gold he had to shower upon it by necessity, a huge amount of wealth simply disappeared during that time. Local lore attests that Thaum had wizards create an extra-dimensional “hidey-hole” in Lyrabar for both security and to store his plunder, but the only piece of information that remains on its whereabouts is the couplet, “Grasp the blade that shatters runes, gaze upon the light of moons”, told to his bodyguard Rorgrinn by Thaum ere his death. Just what this couplet refers to has puzzled sages for nigh on a century. Rumours abound within the city that dread evils and terrors of the Abyss lurk in the city sewers or in the tunnels beneath the Mount, harking back to the time when the Scaled Horde was laying waste to the realm and “King” Agrosh “the Scaled” sat briefly on the Ivory Throne of Impiltur. Certainly in the centuries that followed the Fiendwars, the Elethlim monarchs scoured Lyrabar and all the major cities of the kingdom for remnants of the defeated demon army, and those demons who had sought to hide after the defeat of the balor Ndulu. Such fears are said to be without credible foundation, but Lyrabar is still subject to ongoing disappearances, usually of small children, that the authorities seem powerless to stop. “Fiends ‘neath our feet” is a common expression of the locals and whilst the Crown acts diligently to root out and destroy anything having the foul taint of the Abyss, it is widely believed that demon cults and cultists are prevalent throughout the city. Adventurers and outlanders should take note and beware. Category:Metropolises Category:Settlements in Impiltur